


The Great Gemini

by TheArtificialDane



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF, The Great Gatsby
Genre: 1920's AU, F/F, Lesbian AU, The Great Gatsby AU, cis girl au, the grandest parties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-11 15:30:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11151306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtificialDane/pseuds/TheArtificialDane
Summary: Welcome to the roaring 20’s and the life of one Pearl Liaison. Life is hard for a single girl in the big apple, but rumor has it that on West Egg the booze flows free, the sky is the limit, and nothing can stop your dreams.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the prolouge/first chapter of a cisgirl/lesbian The Great Gatsby Inspired story from TheDane and Polly, kindly betaed by the darling Veronica. We hope you’ll enjoy the first chapter, and join us on our journey. Header is made by Polly!

A little party never killed nobody.

That’s what they said in New York, and Pearl believed it with every fiber of her being.

The parties were bigger. The pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, the liquor was cheaper, and nothing was bigger than when Gemini threw a party.

Raja Gemini was known throughout New York, the woman a brilliant inventor and businessperson, as clever as the devil, and as beautiful as an angel, her presence always commanding every last bit of attention. She threw legendary parties and every wolf on wall street would give up their mistress for a chance to sit at Gemini’s table.

Pearl worked at a telephone company, her days spent connecting cables and people, everything from the mundane to their deepest secret whispered in her ear. Pearl knew everything about everyone who called through her line, her large doe eyes and the blank expression she had mastered from childhood saving her from the firing axe several times, but the risk was worth it, for information was the only value a woman had on the bright streets of New York, unless you were Violet Chachki.

Where Gemini was an enigma, Chachki was a mystery. Pearl had only heard her mentioned in the lunchroom in hushed tones, like the ladies were scared Gemini would materialize out of thin air and rip them limb from limb for talking of her beloved.

She never left Gemini’s side, the rumours said, she was so beautiful no mere man could look upon her, Doris swearing on her life that Chachki had killed Mr. Sachs from Johnson and Johnson with the flutter of her lashes, the man dying then and there, but everyone knew, oh how they knew, that Chachki’s greatest power was that she, and she alone, could bend Gemini to her will with the softest of touches.

***

Pearl escaped as soon as she could. She had hitched a ride from the city, the travel down Long Island hot and humid in the summer air, the wind hitting her bare, alcohol warmed arms. A girl like Pearl could never have survived in the city, if she didn’t have one thing to sell, the information picked up from the cables that kept her company all day. Pearl always knew when Gemini opened the doors to her home, and the information was expensive.

They could see Gemini’s party from miles away, her mansion lighting up the road like a flame that lead the moths to it.

“Oh please, I can’t dance anymore!” Helen gasped, but Pearl didn’t care, she was free, the drinks in her blood and the little white pills of nerve medicine Georges had given her filling her body with fire and the need to move, the sea of bodies, the pure decadence, the sparkling balloons, the glittering luxury all making it seem like a dream.

***

When Pearl saw the small door, she didn’t think of it at first, the hair covered in gold dust, her lungs filled with tones yet to be sung, her feet still too restless not to dance, but her mind couldn’t let go. No one paid any mind to it, and Pearl’s curiosity grew and grew. It killed the cat, her mother had told her, but as Pearl grabbed the handle and pushed the door open, she didn’t care.

The room she stepped into was a study, the music disappearing as the door closed. Pearl looked around, her drink still in hand. She was about to turn around and return to the party, when she realized that the door had no handle.

“Oh no.“

Pearl hit the door, her hands hammering on the thick wood, but it didn’t budge at all.

“Help! Help! Someone, anyone!”

“Who are you?”

Pearl whipped around, a black haired and beautiful woman standing on the steps behind her. Pearl felt her heart skip a beat. The other was the most beautiful woman Pearl had ever seen, a pale baby blue fur around her shoulders.

“No one.”

“You’re no one?” The woman walked down the stairs, her dark eyebrow slightly raised. “You don’t look like no one.” She stopped in front of Pearl, brown eyes meeting blue, and Pearl wanted to drown in the night sky she saw.

“My name is Pearl.”

“And why are you here Pearl?”

Pearl had no idea what to say, what to do. She wanted to know the other’s name, but all that fell from her mouth was rushed words. “I just wanted to experience the party…”

“The party?” The woman’s lips quirked like she just heard a joke, her entire body changing. “You traveled all the way from the city, and rented a dress to participate in the party?”

Pearl wanted to protest. Her dress wasn’t rented, at least not fully. No one had the money to buy anything straight from Paris, but somehow, Pearl knew that the woman in front of her was wearing something that was hers and hers alone, her sweet perfume filling Pearl’s nose, her red lips all Pearl could see.

"Miss Gemini’s parties are legendary.”

“Miss Gemini’s parties?” The woman laughed, “Is that what they say?” Pearl felt her shoulders fall. “You’re interesting Pearl.” The woman took Pearl’s hand and pulled her with her, the other moving so elegantly as she took the stairs two at a time. “Come on. We have to hurry!”

“Hurry where?”

“Up!”

Pearl knew that she should worry, that she should get back to her friends, but she couldn’t help but follow, the other leading her through the grand mansion, every room more impressive than the last, the party still roaring downstairs, the garden a sea of bodies that all danced and drank. The woman threw open a door, and Pearl stepped out on a marble balcony, and in that very moment, fireworks went off, filling the sky, the dark canvas an explosion of bright reds and blues and it was the most beautiful thing Pearl had ever seen.

"How did you know?” Pearl didn’t even realize that she had whispered until she spoke, the other still holding her hand, her skin so soft.

"I know everything my dear, after all,” The woman was interrupted briefly, her delicate features and her strong nose illuminated by yet another burst of colours, her laugh sounding like bells to Pearl’s ears. “I’m Violet Chachki.“


	2. Chapter 2

Pearl woke up, her head hammering, the bright sunlight almost too much. She could hear someone move around, the clack of heels disturbing her, hammering into her liquid brain, hushed voices like waterfalls of sound.

“Breakfast is waiting in the rose garden miss.”

“Thank you Beatrice.”

Pearl pretended to be asleep, not knowing where she was, the night before coming back to her in glimpses, the small study and the mysterious woman, no, Violet Chachki, showing up again and again, the other’s laughter and joy as clear to her as crystal. They had danced, Pearl remembered, no one even noticing them as they had joined the party, Violet deflecting her questions again and again with a smile, while she had easily uncovered all of Pearl’s secrets. Where did she live, how many siblings did she have, where did she work, what was her favorite color. Pearl had answered it all, helped along by a steady stream of drinks, every waiter there always watching out of the corner of their eyes, making sure that Pearl’s glass was never empty, all the while Violet had looked at Pearl, watching her like she was an exotic animal, from a far off country, a mystery to be uncovered, a puzzle to be solved.

Pearl heard a meow, and cracked an eye open, a small cream colored kitten with black marks looking at her, the thing unlike anything Pearl had ever seen in the alleys of New York. Pearl was in a bedroom, white curtains floating in the wind, a pair of french doors opened out to what Pearl could only assume was the garden, the fresh scent of grass and flowers filling the room. The kitten meowed again, and Pearl felt everyone in the room look at her.

“Good morning.“

Pearl thought for a moment that the voice was directed at her, but as the maids left, Pearl realized her host had discovered that she was indeed awake. Pearl wanted to pull the covers over her head, wanted to disappear, but before she could even move the voice spoke again.

“I can see you.”

Pearl could hear the smile in the voice, and she sat up, looking around for the first time. Violet was sitting in front of a vanity, one of the maids brushing her hair, and Pearl felt overwhelmed once again. She looked around. The room was big, bigger than her entire apartment, even though she shared it with three other girls. It was everything a woman could dream off, soft creams and gentle pastels peaking out from the everywhere she looked, like a golden cage for whoever lived here.

“I-”

“You can leave.” Violet held up a hand, and Pearl felt struck for a moment, confused by the dismissal, but then she realised Violet was talking to the maid, the woman quickly collecting her things before she left, leaving Pearl and Violet completely alone in the room, Violet picking up her brush herself, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger with a steady hand.

“Where am I?”

“In my room you silly goose.” Violet smiled, the glint in her eyes still there, like everything Pearl did was hilarious, a secret joke only Violet knew. “Where else would you be?” Violet turned around, her hair perfectly put up. “You could barely stand on the two legs god gave you at the end of the night! You really shouldn’t drink that much, it was very irresponsible of you.”

Pearl didn’t mention that she had only been drinking because Violet had continued to serve her, or at least she assumed she had. The day just got curiouser and curiouser, and she had only just woken up.

“Why am I here?”

“Don’t you want to be?”

Pearl didn’t have time to ask another question, since the door to the room was opened in that very moment, Pearl jumping. She had no idea how she looked, but she knew that she wasn’t presentable.

“Violet! Are you still snoozing my love? You know how I dislike to be kept waiting.”

Time stopped as Pearl watched the woman who walked in. She was tall, her presense filling the room, drawing everything to her, and Pearl couldn’t look away. The woman was beautiful. Night where Violet was day, but there was something predatory about her, every instinct in Pearl telling her to be careful.

“Gertrude told me you were awake-”

The woman stopped her speech as her eyes fell on Pearl, and Pearl knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it had to be Gemini in front of her. The woman’s hair was short and black, just like the flappers that so loved to dance in Harlem, but it didn’t look youthful on Gemini at all, just powerful, like she owned the world, a white shirt and black riding pants almost fooling Pearl into thinking she was looking at a man, if it wasn’t for Gemini’s chest and the twist of her lips as she looked at Violet in disapproval.

“Have you been in the stables again? You know how I dislike the horses’ smell.” Violet stood up, like Pearl wasn’t even there, Gemini’s eyes following Violet’s every move, as if she was as transfigured as Pearl.

“Who’s this?” Gemini pointed, and Pearl felt her stomach drop, Gemini’s finger aimed directly at her.

“My half cousin Pearl.” The lie fell easily from Violet’s lips, as if she had done nothing else in her life. “She’s visiting me.”

“Aha.”

Violet walked towards Gemini, a teasing smile on her lips. She gently took the other’s hand, folding Gemini’s fingers with her own. “Am I not allowed to have friends?” Violet tilted her head, the two woman standing so closely together, the energy between them making the air heavy with something Pearl only barely recognized.

“Of course you are my sweet, of course.”

Pearl wanted to hear more, wanted to watch and understand, but that wasn’t in the cards.

***

“Sit still Miss.”

Pearl nodded, but a soft hand held her immobile. She had once again been dragged along, caught up in a flurry but this time not by Violet. As if summoned by Gemini’s lack of disdain, a maid had showed up, praying on Pearl’s utter confusion, because she wasn’t Chachki’s half cousin, she wasn’t, and before yesterday she had never seen the woman before in her life, but why would Chachki lie? The last thing Pearl had seen was Gemini pulling Violet closer, the woman locked in a very unladylike embrace that made Pearl flush, the sight of them together flipping her stomach, the sound of Violet’s tingly laughter following her.

“Close your eyes please.”

Pearl did as she was told, the maid gently applying the thick coal paste to her lashes with the flat brush. Pearl had never had anyone do her makeup, the luxury of it all lulling her into a state of pure relaxation, the brushing of her hair, the rubbing of her skin with essential oils, someone dressing her in creamy chiffon, the clothes fitting her like they had been tailored, and maybe they had, Gemini’s mansion a magical place where everything seemed to happen like they were all dancing to a music number Pearl couldn’t hear, and then it hit her.

She was in Gemini’s mansion. She had seen Gemini herself, and not only that, she had met and shared a bed with Violet Chachki, the only thing everyone knew Gemini truly cared about. The rumour went that Gemini had burned a man’s face with the stub of her cigar, simply for daring to look at Violet wrong. Oh god almighty. Pearl had shared Chachki’s bed, and no matter what the other said, she wasn’t Chachki’s half cousin.

“Lunch is served!”

***

“I have never heard my Violet talk of you before Pearl.”

Pearl sank as she watched Gemini’s knife cut into the chicken la king on her plate, Pearl painfully aware what the knife could be used for.

“I-”

“I haven’t seen her in years.” Violet cut in, the smile still on her lips, and Pearl wondered briefly if Chachki had any other expression but lazy contentment. “Imagine my delight when she showed up yesterday at our little soiree, I was ecstatic, isn’t that right Pearl.”

“I..” Pearl had come down for lunch, not knowing what to expect, the entire thing feeling like a dream, but just as she had been told she had found Gemini and Violet there, the two women sitting side by side. Gemini was wearing a different outfit, a striking red jacket bringing out her color, while Violet’s hair that had been so carefully done was bended in new curls and collected with a small gold pin that Pearl had no doubt sprouted a real diamond, a different glow surrounding them both. Pearl felt Violet’s leg underneath the table, the other woman’s shoe sneaking its way around Pearl’s foot, keeping her in place, a gentle nudge urging her to speak. “It was a pleasant surprise.”

“Pearl will be leaving as soon as André readies the car. She has a very important job in Manhattan.” Violet smiled, her white teeth bright in the sunlight. “Can you believe she chooses to work in the summer in that dreadful city? It’s so big and noisy and no place for a lady.”

“Any place is a place for a lady.” Gemini looked serious. “Not everyone loves their cages as much as you my sweet.” Violet laughed like Gemini had just told the greatest joke, and Pearl felt her heart break, a deep sadness overwhelming her.

In the car to the city, the wind in her face, Pearl heard the words over and over in her mind, because who could truly be happy in a cage? No matter how they pretended.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains precieved mentions of abuse, so be aware!

“Yes, I’m connecting you right now sir. Hold the line.” Pearl pushed her cable in, the board in front of her lighting up as the call went through. Pearl kept her headset on, absentmindedly listening to the voices on the line. It was against the company rules to snoop, but Pearl had thankfully been born with a pair of big, blue eyes that had gotten her out of trouble since childhood.

Pearl jotted down their names, but she peaked the moment she heard Gemini’s name mentioned on the line.

It had been a week since Pearl left Gemini’s grounds, the time feeling like a dream. The couple on her line talked about the party during the weekend, the girl having heard of it from her cousin’s best friend’s hairdresser. No one was ever invited to a Gemini party, everyone simply showed up, and Pearl knew why. It felt like a different world out there, like anything was possible. Pearl remembered the sensation of Violet’s lips against her cheek, the gentle kiss goodbye and Violet’s promises that they would see each other again. Pearl closed her notebook and crossed out the date. She wouldn’t go back. She couldn’t. It was too dangerous.

***

“Pearl, I’m talking to you.”

Pearl looked up, her best friend Brian sitting opposite her, his short brown hair and blue eyes dragging her back to reality as Brian took a bite of his ham sandwich.

“Geeze… Am I really that boring?”

“You’re not.”

***

The summer was unbearably hot. Her roommates had all but one gone to central park, but Pearl had stayed behind in the apartment, not in the mood to watch strangers walk around, the wooden floor of her small room all she could collect her thoughts on as she watched the sliver of blue sky and clouds that was visible between the brick buildings of her neighborhood.

“So this is where you live?”

Pearl sat up, shock rushing through her as she turned around and saw Violet Chachki standing in the door of her room in a bright yellow dress. Violet looked like she had stepped right out of the pages of Gazette du Bon Ton, the magazine one Pearl often sneaked peaks in at the bookstore whenever she had the chance.

“Violet?”

“So you do live here? How quaint.” Violet pulled off her gloves and looked around. “How does anyone breathe in these rooms? It’s so… Small.” Violet stepped inside and closed the door behind her, and Pearl became painfully aware that she was in her undergarments.

“Why are you here?” Pearl knew she should have asked a million other questions, like how Violet got into the apartment, why she had kissed her cheek or even why she had come, but the only thing she could think about was that Violet was here, in front of her, in New York.

“I’m visiting my favorite cousin while Raja is having lunch at the Yale Club.”

Pearl gulped. The Yale Club? How had Gemini gotten access to the Yale Club?

“The new library.”

Had Violet just read her thoughts? Pearl did faintly remember a story in the paper about an anonymous donor, but was that really Gemini?

“I missed you at our little soiree.” Violet smiled, and Pearl felt the almost familiar sense of warmth rush through her body. Pearl was about to answer when Violet sat down, clearly done with the conversation. “Pack your bags please.”

“My bags?”

“Yes! Don’t just stand there like a fish. I didn’t come to the city to miss the train.”

“But… I can’t just go!”

“It is summer, is it not? Or did you forget?”

“I have a job.”

“Ah… How dreadful that you have to work.” Violet’s brow crinkled slightly and Pearl once again felt like her world was falling apart as Violet sighed. “I had hoped you would come with me,” Violet sat down on the small chair Pearl kept in her room, Pearl’s eyes glued to Violet. “It’s so boring in the house when I’m all alone.”

“All alone?” Pearl took a step towards, her feet carrying her before she even realised what she was doing. “You’re all alone?” Pearl could see Violet in her inner eye, the beautiful woman sitting in the study, only kept company by books, she could see her walking in the gardens and even watching her parties from far above, detached and alone, and Pearl wanted to cry.

Violet reached out and took Pearl’s hand. “I content myself with parties and dinners.” Violet sighed once again before she looked up at Pearl, her grip tightening. “It would please me so much to have my favorite cousin there to keep the loneliness at bay…”

“But what abou-”

“My darling Raja never makes time for me anymore.”

Pearl couldn’t fathom what she was hearing.

“It’s true…” Violet’s voice was thick, like she was about to cry. “Whenever I ask for her time she simply says she’s busy, and I so wish to have someone to play with, someone like you…”

“I’ll come.”

Pearl couldn’t believe what she has just said. But she knew it was the truest words she had ever spoken. She wanted Violet to be happy, above all else, even though she didn’t understand the feelings at all.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” Violet stood up and Pearl was pulled into a hug, Violet’s sweet scent like a cloud around them, and Pearl could breath it forever. “Oh my sweet Pearl, my sweet sweet Pearl!” Violet pulled back, her smile lighting up the room, every trace of tears gone, leaving behind only the purest of happiness. “We’ll have so much fun, we’ll be inseparable, like the truest of friends, I promise!”

***

Violet kept her word, not that Pearl expected anything less. Every week Pearl packed up her belongings and traveled to West Egg, Violet always greeting her with her brightest smile, like she was a lost child returning home, or as if Violet’s favorite toy had been returned to her. Pearl watched and learned the name of Violet’s kitten, the big horses Gemini bought for her and the name of the European designers that made every piece of Violet’s enormous wardrobe. Pearl learned the names of the staff: Beatrice, Gertrude and Miranda, all of them so loyal to Violet it almost made Pearl feel sick.

Every moment on the grounds was like heaven itself had opened, Violet’s attention always making Pearl feel like she was the only one in the room, the only one in the world. They went swimming and went on walks, they played silly forgotten childhood games of hide and seek in the vast library, and hopscotch on the patios, afternoons spent with wine and laughter, Violet always laughing and laughing and laughing, like nothing truly meant anything, like happiness was always just a breath away, and that it never mattered, because tomorrow came another bigger, brighter and better day where they would run faster, stretch further and rip apart in the beating waves of the future.

It haunted Pearl, when she was in New York, the emptiness she felt from her dearest friend, because that was what Violet had become. Pearl saw how Violet sat on Gemini’s lap, smiling and fluttering her lashes, pursing her lips into adorable pouts or whispered promises of what she would do if Gemini allowed her to play what she wanted. Pearl saw the greed in Gemini’s eyes, the need to take and to hold, to own, and it made Pearl sick, until one day, where it all became too much.

***

It happened at lunch, a boring one where Pearl had been sipping champagne, Gemini entertaining her guests, all of them people Pearl vaguely recognised from the business pages of The New Yorker. Pearl had just about fallen asleep, the night’s party still in her veins, when Violet interrupted the table’s sleepy mood.

“Must we talk about such boring things at lunch?” Violet sighed, accusation clear in her gaze as she pushed the fruit on her plate around. “Who cares for mining laws in Georgia or the price of gas in Jersey.”

“Violet-”

Violet reached out and touched Gemini’s arm, silencing the other woman. “Let’s go on the boat. Please? The day is much too nice to discuss business, after all.” Violet looked at the men, a small smile playing on her lips. “You came here to enjoy the great Gemini’s hospitality, what would make you more of a gracious host than taking everyone for a trip on the new Madiz? It was built in Europe, right my love?”

“Scotland, at Ailsa Yard.” Gemini looked at Violet. “Actually… Let’s. We should go on the yacht. Gentlemen. You heard the lady.”

***

Pearl had only gone to get her swimwear, trips on the boat a great opportunity to show off the new clothes Violet had gifted her, when she turned a corner, and walked in on a secret she was sure she wasn’t supposed to see. Gemini had Violet against the wall, the woman’s arms on either side of Violet’s head, her voice low and threatening.

“Don’t you /ever/ disrespect me like that again. Do you understand?”

“Raja, I-” Violet whimpered, but Gemini didn’t let up.

“You live by my mercy Violet. You’re nothing without me.”

Pearl barely made it to the garden, the contents of her stomach spilling out on the grass, the sour taste nothing against the acid and anger that burned in her chest, Violet’s laughter and empty eyes haunting Pearl, and now she understood. She understood everything.

***

It was all she could see. Pearl had spotted them the moment they stepped on the boat, Violet’s hips decorated in pale purple. She sat on Gemini’s lap, the women sharing tender kisses and whispered words of affection, but all Pearl could see was how perfectly Gemini’s hands lined up with the shape of Violet’s bruises.

“Pearl!” Violet waved, pulling Pearl out of her thoughts.

How could Violet be so happy, so carefree? It was fake, all of it, fake fake fake.

“Pearl.” Violet stood up and wrapped her arms around Pearl “Come on. It’s a wonderful day!” Violet placed a kiss on Pearl’s cheek, and oh how Pearl wished she would whisper to her, how she wished Violet would tall her to take her away from here, away from the mirage that held Violet captive. “There’s no need to be so sour.”

“I’m not.”

Violet’s slender body was wrapped in sheer white fabric, barely concealing the evidence from Gemini’s power over Violet, and it made Pearl sick. How could Violet stand it?

“Violet! Come on, I’m making your favorite drink.”

“Just a second!” Violet took Pearl’s hand, and Pearl could swear Violet squeezed her hand, the other holding on so tight it hurt.

“Smile Pearl. Everything is easier when you just smile.”

**Author's Note:**

> come chat to us at theartificialdane.tumblr.com and pollynightin.tumblr.com <3


End file.
